Bills waive a safety
Not long after the close of the team’s mandatory minicamp, the Bills parted ways with one of their rookie safeties.
Rookie free agent safety Brett Johnson was waived by the club Friday afternoon just hours after the last spring practice.
Johnson was in a difficult numbers game from the beginning with veterans at both strong and free safety. Johnson was a free safety in his time in Buffalo, but his reps on defense were very few and far between.
The only rookie safety left on the roster is undrafted Temple product Dominique Harris.
Wang and Bell update
It looks like getting back on the practice field for Ed Wang and Demetrius Bell will have to wait until training camp.
Wang and Bell are both spectators here at One Bills Drive on the last day of Bills minicamp.
Wang was injured earlier this month in OTAs while Bell never took the field this spring as his rehab from knee surgery continues.
Byrd back
Tags: Ashton Youboty, Derek Schouman, Jairus Byrd, Jamon Meredith, Kawika Mitchell, Marcus Stroud, minicamp
After not participating this morning FS Jairus Byrd is back on the practice field this afternoon.
Byrd is one of a handful of players who is having their reps scaled back.
Kawika Mitchell, who participated in the morning practice is watching this afternoon. Marcus Stroud is also not on the field for the afternoon practice following his morning participation.
Derek Schouman however, has been a spectator for all of Thursday as has Jamon Meredith and Ashton Youboty.
New to the non-participant list this afternoon is LB Reggie Torbor.
Afternoon update
Tags: minicamp
The afternoon practice update has been added to the Day 1 – Minicamp report. Check the media lounge later for exclusive highlights of Wednesday’s action.
Wood, Mitchell watching
Tags: minicamp
Though they both participated in practice Wednesday morning at the Bills mandatory minicamp, Eric Wood and Kawika Mitchell are not practicing this afternoon.
Both players are rehabbing from injuries and Chan Gailey said they’re participation will be monitored closely.
Other players that are being monitored are Marcus Stroud and Terrence McGee.
Corey McIntyre left practice early due to illness.
Where will Torbor line up?
Newly added LB Reggie Torbor played inside linebacker in the 3-4 system in Miami, but he also played outside linebacker when he was with the New York Giants. Where will he line up with Buffalo?
Odds are he’ll line up at inside linebacker, where defensive coordinator George Edwards (who was his position coach in Miami the last 2 years) knows what he’s capable of in a scheme of this nature. He was an attractive commodity to the Bills because he’s familiar with the 3-4 system, and he has inside-outside versatility according to coach Gailey.
We’ll let you know where he lines up in our continuing coverage of Bills minicamp which wraps up Sunday and Bills OTAs which resume on Tuesday.
Nelson glad to be back
Bills TE Shawn Nelson missed a few OTA practices this week, but is glad to be back on the field with his teammates.
“Everything is going pretty well,” said Nelson. ”I’ve been kind of going back and forth. I’ve had a personal conflict back at home. I just want to work hard when I’m here and make the best of it. Just work hard and work with my teammates and build a relationship with those guys and learn how they play on the field so we can correlate with each other.”
Nelson jumped right back into the fray and made some plays in the passing game. He feels he’s also improved his blocking and his overall strength, which will be important knowing the emphasis Gailey’s offenses typically place on running the ball.
Some jawing at practice
The defense had the better of play on day one of minicamp Friday and it prompted them to challenge their offensive counterparts all the more with some talk.
Donte Whitner got things going when he anticipated a screen play and started yelling, “Screen, screen.”
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick hearing this changed the play and Whitner had a few more words for the offense indicating it was a good idea to change it.
From time to time offensive players told defensive players to simmer down and be quiet. But the defensive players kept egging the offensive players on, and it became all the easier with the number of plays they were making.
Reggie Corner however, made sure to point out that it’s all in the name of good competition.
“It makes it a lot more fun out there for everybody,” said Corner of the chatter back and forth. “Those that talk have to make plays, but it is respectful and it’s designed to get the guy going against you to go harder in practice.”
Practice has been spirited this week and the talking has been part of the reason for it.
Poz trying to add a few
Paul Posluszny looks very fit and maybe even a bit quicker on the field during the first couple of weeks of spring practices. But in no way is Poz any lighter. In fact he’s trying to take his weight in the other direction.
“I’m right around the 240 mark right now,” said Posluszny. “If I could be at 242 that would be better.”
Poz played last year at 238 pounds. In the 3-4 system with less ground to cover having a fellow backer on the inside with him, Posluszny wants to add a little more lean muscle mass.
“It’ s all about being bigger, faster and stronger, so I’d like to gain two or three pounds here,” he said.
Easley getting deep
Bills 4th round pick Marcus Easley has a reputation of having deceptive speed, and he’s been demonstrating that in practice here Friday.
Easley got by his cover man for a deep touchdown, his second in two days. He had another a short time later, but couldn’t quite run down the pass.
Lynch update
Despite reports that Marshawn Lynch is in town, it doesn’t appear as though he’s going to be practicing at Wednesday’s OTA workout.
According to Scout.com’s Adam Caplan, Lynch arrived in Buffalo last night.
But as of 10 am his locker stall was untouched and unoccupied. Player meetings began long before that time this morning, so odds are while he may be in town, he’s unlikely to be out on the practice field in about an hour.
It’s just a guess, but the start of voluntary minicamp on Friday seems to make sense as he’s indicated in interviews recently that he would begin practicing at the end of the week.
Exclusive OTA coverage
Organized team activities (OTAs) for the Buffalo Bills are set to get underway Tuesday and Buffalobills.com will have exclusive coverage as OTAs and minicamps run through the month of June.
Daily video reports in Bills Roundup, including exclusive highlights of the day’s action.
Daily written reports including player developments and the top performers.
And player interviews as well as comment from head coach Chan Gailey.
Here’s the rundown of the OTA and minicamp schedule for this week along with a note as to when coach Gailey will be available. Here’s the full spring practice schedule which runs through late June.
Voluntary OTAs
Tues. May 25 – Practice 12:05 – 1:35 pm (Coach Gailey avail.)
Wed. May 26 – Practice 12:05 – 1:35 pm
Thurs. May 27 – Practice 12:05 – 1:35 pm
Waived players would have been in numbers game
Of the five players that were waived by the Bills this afternoon, there wasn’t one that would not have been caught in a numbers game at his position.
Blake Costanzo was a solid special teams player, but at linebacker right or wrong he had about eight fellow linebackers ahead of him on the depth chart.
For the other players it was much the same case. Cornerback Kyle Ward’s chances were limited with two draft picks at the same position (C. Harris, Lankster) and a lot of experienced talent as well (McGee, McKelvin, Youboty, Corner, Florence).
Same goes for OT Joel Bell, who was the team’s fifth or sixth offensive tackle. The Bills have three reserve tackles with playing experience already in Demetrius Bell, Kirk Chambers and Jonathan Scott.
DLs John Faletoese and Gerald Washington were also buried on the depth chart as they ran with the third team defense all spring.
With the roster count at 75 and eight draft picks that don’t count until signed, the Bills will have to make room for three more draft picks when signings draw nearer.
Why C.J. Hawthorne was on crutches
Tags: C.J. Hawthorne, Dick Jauron, minicamp, Nick Hennessey
Bills wide receiver C.J. Hawthorne did not participate in any of the spring workouts from rookie camp to mandatory minicamp due to injury. And that injury apparently did not get better as Dick Jauron explained why Hawthorne, who was walking under his own power until Tuesday when he was seen on crutches.
“C.J. in a cast right now and will be for a few more days,” said Jauron. “It’s a leg issue. C.J. has had some surgery and as far as I know C.J. should be ready for camp.”
Undrafted rookie offensive lineman Nick Hennessey also suffered a leg injury during practice in the final OTA Monday. His chances are being ready for training camp are a little cloudier according to Jauron.
Lynch’s injury
Marshawn Lynch did not participate in the last two helmet practices with his teammates in minicamp on Tuesday and Wednesday. His injury was outlined by head coach Dick Jauron.
“He got stepped on and his foot kind of swelled up,” said Jauron. ”So we sent him for x-rays and tests, and nothing is broken, but it was still swollen and sore.”
Lynch was favoring the foot a bit walking around on the sidelines at practice. But it’s not considered serious.
Final minicamp practice brief
Tags: minicamp
Just a short walk thru for the Bills on the final day of minicamp.
it lasted about 40 minutes.
Lynch and Parrish watching
Marshawn Lynch and Roscoe Parrish are not participating in practice for day 2 of minicamp.
Lynch is dealing with an undisclosed ailment, while Parrish tweaked his right calf early in practice Tuesday.
Owens on Romo as opposed to Edwards
Terrell Owens was asked a handful of questions about adjusting to his new team and new offensive scheme at the close of practice Monday. One asked him how much he’s had to adjust from catching passes from Tony Romo to Trent Edwards.
“It’s really not a difference,” said Owens. ”You have two different quarterbacks, so it’s just a different system. The routes are pretty much the same with a few variations here and there. It’s all about just going out there and executing, him dropping back and going through his reads and progressions, and delivering the ball. It’s about us going out there and just making plays for him.”
Owens didn’t elaborate on what makes Romo and Edwards two different quarterbacks, but by pointing to the system it sounds as if Owens is saying it’s different because the respective offensive systems are geared to the different strengths of the two signal callers.
Nelson at minicamp practice
Shawn Nelson was back with his teammates at mandatory minicamp Tuesday. He also made a couple of nice receptions in the passing game. Check out Bills Roundup in the media lounge later this afternoon for his highlights and many other exclusive plays from practice only on Buffalobills.com.
Biggest adjustment for T.O.
Terrell Owens was asked what his biggest adjustment has been since he’s come to Buffalo. And his response had nothing to do with football.
“Finding a place to stay,” said Owens.
When asked if he still hasn’t found a place Owens remained optimistic.
“No,” he said. “But it’s coming.”
The next question was what issues were keeping him from finding a suitable place.
“Just small places,” said Owens. “I’m just trying to find something for my comfort. But other than that I’m getting it down. The plays are coming to me. I think the time that I’ve been here has been very, very beneficial.”
Owens feels adjusting to the offense has gone very well, which is a good sign for Buffalo’s attack. If his biggest adjustment is finding a place to stay, that can mean nothing but good things for the Bills on the field come this fall.
